Concealed Love
by Rae Sedona
Summary: Fairy Tail mages Evelyn Clark and Alfred Jones have been work partners for three years, and their friendship, though Evelyn will deny it, is quite strong and has endured each test life has thrown at them. However, on a job, something unexpected happens that threatens their friendship. After all, what're the chances of both of them being secretly in love with the other?


**A/N: This is quite old and a tad bit cringy, but it's not too awful, I hope. Hope you enjoy it! I had a blast writing it. (Also, I apologize for the crappy title. Can't be bothered to think of a good one when I'm only uploading this for the hell of it.)**

* * *

"Yo, Ev!" Alfred grinned, walking over to where Evelyn was sitting at the guild's bar and slinging his arm over her slender shoulders. Every morning, the blonde would come sit at the bar and have a cup of Earl Grey tea and sometimes a pastry or two as she read, and nearly every morning, Alfred would come talk to her.

"Sod off." Evelyn huffed as she rolled her eyes and swatted Alfred's arm off her. "And my name is Evelyn, not 'Ev'."

"It's just a nickname, dude!" He laughed and took the seat next to her, sitting sideways in the chair so he could look at her. "How about Evie, then?"

"I'm not a 'dude', if you haven't noticed." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, looking rather annoyed. "And we've been over this, what, nearly eight times _this month_?"

Alfred pursed his lips into a pout and rested his elbow on the bar countertop as he laid his head in his hand. "You're no fun."

"I'm quite a lot of fun, thank you. Just not around thick headed morons who can't grasp a person's gender or name." Evelyn sighed and looked away as Alfred gave her the most adorably sad look he could. "And that puppy eye rubbish doesn't work on me."

Alfred chuckled and pulled out a flier from the job request board before setting it next to her cup of tea.

"Wanna go on a job today? I snatched up a good one! When Natsu and Lucy n' all them are out on jobs, is sure gets dull around here, but at least we can rake in losta dough while they're gone!"  
Evelyn cringed at his cliché phrasing and downright terrible grammar and looked at the flier, raising her eyebrows in surprise at the reward.

"Six hundred thousand jewel just for bringing in a vampire? That's a little much for one person."

"Apparently, the dude's real powerful or somethin'. Which is why Sadie and Gilbert are comin' with us!" Alfred grinned widely. "It's gonna be awesome!"

Evelyn sipped her tea and looked at him, frowning a little.

"I haven't agreed to going."

Alfred's smile faded a little, almost making her feel bad for saying that when she had already made up her mind to go.

"Oh. You will though, right?" He asked, sounding quite hopeful.

Evelyn took a deep breath and sighed.

"Yes, yes, I'll go."

Alfred's lips shifted into a massive smile and he leapt upright in his excitement.

"Hell yeah!"

Evelyn took another sip of tea to avoid letting him see her struggle to hide her fond expression and made a shooing motion toward him with her hand.

"Take your loudness elsewhere, please. I have a book to finish. Oh, when do we leave, by the way?"

"Dawn, tomorrow mornin'!" Alfred replied proudly. "I'm going to go tell Sadie and Gilbert! See ya around, Ev!"

Before Evelyn could tell him off for calling her that again, he hurried away, off to search for his twin sister and her boyfriend. The second he was out of sight, she took another deep breath and sighed again.

"More tea?" Mirajane asked sweetly, walking over with a kettle in hand, as she knew the answer already.

"Yes, please." Evelyn replied, clearing her throat before looking over the job request again.

Mirajane glanced at the paper as she refilled Evelyn's cup and plopped a teabag in.

"Planning on going on a job soon?" She asked, smiling.

"Unfortunately. Alfred convinced me to go with him, Sadie, and Gilbert." She answered.

"Aw, it'll almost be like a double date!" Mirajane exclaimed, smiling wider. "Let me know how it goes!"

Evelyn's cheeks immediately flushed red with embarrassment.

"It-it isn't like that!" She protested. "Alfred and I are just friends."

Mirajane giggled softly and nodded.

"If you say so. Enjoy your tea!" With that, she walked away.

Evelyn ran a hand through her blonde hair, which was styled in its usual messy pixie cut, and sipped her tea, wondering how much longer she could keep denying her feelings toward her best friend.

* * *

The next morning, Evelyn woke half an hour or so before dawn and proceeded to get ready and carefully pack the potions she thought she might need while on the mission into a padded bag. Being a potions master was rather fun at times, but rather inconvenient due to having to carefully transport all the fragile bottles to and from jobs, especially when one had an overexcited, clumsy idiot as one's work partner.

She buttoned up the bag and stood, raising an eyebrow as she noticed that Alfred wasn't there yet. Usually, he came to walk with her to the train station as soon as he could, and him not being here could only mean one thing. The git had chosen to go back to sleep instead of getting out of bed. He always did that on the colder mornings when they had to work, which led to the same thing happening each time.

"Get your bloody fat arse out of bed!" Evelyn called out, yanking Alfred's blankets off him. She crossed her arms and furrowed her brow a bit in annoyance, having wanted to go straight to the train station to meet up with Gilbert and Sadie rather than take a detour to Alfred's apartment.

Alfred let out a long, high pitched whine and curled up around himself.

"No…."

"Yes."

"No…."  
"Yes."

"But it's so cold…." He said, reaching out, his eyes still closed, to find his blankets.

Evelyn rolled her eyes and blushed a little when she noticed that he was wearing nothing but his underwear.

"Then start wearing actual clothes to bed, you git."

"But sleeping in clothes is uncomfortable." He complained, still trying to blindly grasp his blankets, which weren't on his bed, but the floor.

Evelyn sighed heavily and walked over to his drawers, pulling out a pair of pants and a longsleeved shirt before tossing them at him.

"Get dressed, we're going to be late meeting Gilbert and Sadie."

Alfred groaned tiredly, but reluctantly sat up and did as he was told.

"I'm hungry."

"Then get something on the train." She said, handing him a pair of socks and his shoes. "We're late."

Alfred yawned and nodded, standing to pull his pants up before putting on his shoes and socks.

"Don't worry, Gil n' Sadie are gonna be late, too. Sadie can't function in the morning until she has breakfast, which is, as you know, always pancakes, so we'll probably get there around the same time they do 'cause she has to make 'em." Alfred said, putting on his second shoe and yawning again.

"It's not being late to meet up with them that I'm worried about, it's missing the train, Alfred." Evelyn sighed.

"Psh, we won't miss it. Even if we do, there's another one that leaves at eight." He looked at her and smiled, still looking adorably sleepy. "Don't worry, Ev, I got everythin' covered."

Evelyn blushed and turned away, picking up her potions bag from the couch.

"Come on, we need to get going."

"'kay." Alfred said. He stood and, after pulling on his jacket, followed her as she went outside. He shivered against the frigid morning air, his arms crossed tightly to preserve heat, and walked to the train station with Evelyn by his side.

"Yo, Al! Think I could fit all of them in my mouth at the same time?" Gilbert grinned, holding three hard boiled eggs in his hand.

Alfred laughed loudly, clearly amused by the thought.

"Do it, dude."

"Gil, you could choke…." Sadie said gently, looking a little wary.

"Ha! Choke? No way, Schatz! I'm too awesome for that." He chortled, his red eyes glistening with a rather disturbingly strong look of confidence.

"If you get an egg lodged in your throat, I'm making no move to help you." Evelyn huffed, rolling her eyes. "I've had to give you the heimlich three times too many since we met, and if you haven't learned your lesson by now, that's your own problem."

"And Sadie's, 'cause he'd die." Alfred pointed out, chuckling, as he knew that though Evelyn claimed she wouldn't help him, she would. "Plus, I can do the hei-...whatever it's called, too!"

"Actually, you can't. Remember when I tried to teach you and you did it so completely wrong that you made Gilbert throw up?" She answered, sighing.

"That's a good thing, though; if they throw up, that'll get whatever's stuck in their throat out!"

"If the person's choking, they won't be able to throw up, Alfred." Evelyn said, facepalming.

"They won't?" Alfred raised an eyebrow, looking confused. "That's just stupid."

"Much like you." Evelyn muttered under her breath.

While they had been talking, Gilbert had already put the first egg in his mouth and neither of them had noticed until Sadie had gasped loudly and in her panic, punched him in the abdomen. Gilbert, who had not been expecting it, spat the egg out. Just as it happened, a smiling train stewardess had walked up to them and before she was able to open her mouth to speak, was promptly hit in the face with the disgorged egg.

Sadie and Evelyn gasped in horror, whereas the other two had to clamp their hands over their mouths to keep from bursting out in laughter.

"Oh my gosh…." Sadie nearly whispered, her usually pale face red with humiliation. "I-I'm s-" Her voice trailed off, unable to finish her sentence as her throat tightened and her eyes filled with tears of embarrassment.

"I'm so terribly sorry, miss." Evelyn said, somehow keeping her cool as she stood, took up a napkin, and wiped a bit of spit off the woman's face. "Please excuse Gilbert, he's a deeply troubled person."

"It's quite all right." The small, Asian stewardess said, managing to smile weakly. "It happens all the time."

Evelyn nodded, though she seriously doubted getting spat in the face with boiled eggs was a frequent occurrence anywhere, much less on a train, and sat back down.

"We'll be arriving shortly, so please be prepared to depart." She said politely before rather hurriedly walking to the next group of people.

The moment she turned away, Gilbert and Alfred lost their composure and began laughing so hard they could hardly breathe. Evelyn glared at them, deciding she would chastise them as soon as she calmed Sadie, who was sitting next to her, down.

"It wasn't your fault, don't worry." She reassured her with a slight smile.

"But-but I was the one who h-hit him." Sadie answered, fighting to keep her tears back.

"He was the one who put the egg in his mouth." Evelyn said, speaking pleasantly through gritted teeth. "Don't worry."

Sadie nodded , sniffling a little, and Evelyn turned her attention to Alfred and Gilbert, who silenced almost immediately when they noticed her glaring at them. Gilbert smiled and chuckled nervously, holding up one of the two eggs he had left.

"Want one?"

* * *

The lecture Gilbert received from Evelyn didn't end until the four of them had arrived at the cave where the vampire tormenting the city supposedly lived. It would've ended sooner, if not for Gilbert asking her if it was 'that time of the month' and enraging her further. They all now stood well away from the cave, devising an attack plan.

"Do they want him alive?" Gilbert asked, cracking his knuckles as dramatically as possible.

Evelyn rolled her eyes. "We _just_ talked to the village leader. Weren't you listening? He said it didn't matter if we captured or killed him, as long as we take him to the authorities if its the former."

"We aren't going to kill him, are we?" Sadie asked, looking apprehensive.

"Not if we can help it, no." She answered. "Now, listen up. I'm going to launch a smoke bomb potion into the cave while the three of you conceal yourself nearby and wait for him to come out. When he does, Sadie, you freeze his feet in place with your ice magic. After that, Alfred, use your speed magic and try to tie him up quickly, before he can bite anyone. Gilbert, be ready to shoot a small ball of fire at him if he gets too close to anyone. I'll help by using what potions I can. Any questions?"

They all shook their heads and Evelyn took a deep breath and nodded. "Well then, let's get into position."

"If any of y'all die, Imma kill ya." Alfred said, grinning as he started walking toward the cave with the three of them.

"Why do you always say that?" Evelyn asked, rolling her eyes.

"'cause I wanna." He chuckled, ruffling her hair.

"Stop that!" She swatted his hand away, frowning. "You're messing it up."

"Actually, it was an improvement." Gilbert smirked.

"You're one to talk. Have you _ever_ brushed your hair?" She snapped.

"Hell no! It's naturally awesome! Right, Schatz?" He grinned, gently nudging Sadie with his elbow.

Sadie smiled and rolled her eyes a little. "Of course, Gilly."

"Told you!" Gilbert said, smirking smugly.

"You're impossible." Evelyn groaned.

"Impossibly awesome!"

"Can you be _any_ louder, Gilbert? We're getting closer now and our surprise attack will in no way be a surprise if you keep practically shouting every word you say."

"Oh, you know I can." He chuckled mischievously, although his voice was quieter than before.

Evelyn merely rolled her eyes and continued walking.

Not long later, everyone was where they should be and Evelyn signaled to silently as if they were ready. When they all signaled back, she took a deep breath and took a smoke bomb and a slingshot out of her bag. Careful as to not break the fragile glass holding the potion, she put it inside the slingshot and pulled the string to launch it back before aiming and letting go. As planned, the potion shot through the air and landed exactly where she intended before it exploded into a cloud of thick smoke that would dissipate in about fifteen seconds.

When no one stumbled out coughing, she blinked in confusion. When a hand clamped over her mouth and another seized her wrists, she realized why. Evelyn tried to scream, but the man's grip was too strong, so she instead tried a different tactic. She lifted her foot and stomped as hard as she could on his, but the vampire didn't even flinch.

Before she could try again, Alfred was by her side, having ran over using his speed magic, and had punched the man attacking her as hard as he could in the face.

"Ev, run!" Alfred shouted as the vampire let her go and stumbled backward. The dark creature recovered a few moments later and, pissed off, lunged for him. Alfred dodged his attempt and Evelyn scrambled toward her potions bag, eager to help him.

In her panic, she grabbed the nearest one and threw it, not realizing until it exploded that it had been another smoke bomb. Her heartbeat doubled in speed and she waited anxiously, breathing quickly as she silently hoped Alfred would be okay.

Fifteen seconds later, the smoke cleared and Evelyn's eyes widened in awestruck horror. Alfred was on the ground, and the vampire was quickly sucking as much blood as he could from the artery in his neck.

Without a second of hesitation, she leapt up and sprinted over before swiftly grabbing the vampire's head, forcing his teeth out of Alfred's flesh, and snapping his neck in a swift twist of her wrists. She shoved his limp body off Alfred and with tear brimmed eyes, knelt by him, panicking. He looked so pale….

"Alfred?" Evelyn said shakily, shaking his shoulder. When he didn't react, terror stilled her heart.

"Alfred, open your sodding eyes!" She screamed, sounding quite desperate. To her relief, that's exactly what he did. His beautiful blue eyes stared into hers, lacking their ever present youthful exuberance.

"Al-Evelyn," he said weakly, struggling to stay awake. "I...love y-you."

Evelyn gasped softly, utterly shocked.

"Wh...what?"

Alfred opened his mouth to reply, but before he could form the words, his eyes became unfocused and slid shut, his body going limp as he lost consciousness.

* * *

Evelyn sat in the hospital's waiting room, her head in her hands as she waited for Sadie. Gilbert was sitting next to her, completely silent as he nervously fiddled with his sleeve. Sadie was the only one of them allowed in the room while the doctors healed Alfred, so the two of them were stuck waiting, desperately hoping he was going to be okay.

After what seemed like days later, Sadie finally came to tell them how Alfred was doing. The second Evelyn saw her, she immediately stood up, her heart slowing down its pace until she wasn't sure if it was even beating anymore.

"He's going to be just fine." Sadie said. "He just lost a lot of blood, which the doctors can fix easily. He should be back to normal in about a day."

Evelyn nodded, sighing in relief before clearing her throat and looking away.

"I'm heading back to the guild. I have some stuff I need to take care of." She said, picking up her potions bag and slinging it over her shoulder.

"Wait, what?" Gilbert asked, standing and furrowing his brow in confusion. "You're leaving now?"

"Is that not what I just said?"

"But Alfred's-"

Sadie stopped Gilbert by putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Evelyn probably has a lot to think about and I think we've got things covered here." She said gently.

Gilbert frowned a little, but didn't protest further.

"Travel safely, okay?" Sadie said, briefly hugging her.

Evelyn nodded, mumbling a farewell before hurrying out of the hospital, struggling to keep from breaking down in tears.

* * *

It had been three days since Alfred, Sadie, and Gilbert returned to Magnolia, though Evelyn had yet to see Alfred. Sadie and Gilbert came by to drop off her share of the jewels they got from the job, but Alfred wasn't with them, for which she was both glad and upset about.

Evelyn hadn't left her apartment much since she got back, afraid to bump into him if she did so and busy sorting through her thoughts. She could hardly believe what she heard him say. After all, when one had heard something said so many times in dreams, hearing it aloud was rather surreal.

So many questions came with those three little words as well, which she had been constantly pouring over. Did he really mean it? Was it just a delirious murmur? Did he even remember saying it? Thinking so much about it had started to drive her insane, and just when she was about to go to Alfred's apartment and demand an explanation, there was a knock on her door.

She stood and opened it, not surprised in the slightest to see Alfred standing there, looking a little worried. He had a small bandage over the teeth marks on his neck, but looked completely normal, except for his expression.

"H-hey." He said rather quietly.

Evelyn blushed and looked away, not knowing what to say, therefore opting not to reply.

"I haven't seen you around the guild…." Alfred continued awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Been busy." She muttered, even though they both knew that was a lie.

Alfred nodded and cleared his throat.

"Can...can I come in for a sec? I have some things I wanna talk to you about…."

Evelyn opened the door wider and gestured for him to come inside, internally freaking out. Had he changed his mind about how he felt? Did he not mean it and came to clarify that? Did he even remember he had said it?

When he walked in, she closed the door and followed him to the couch, where they sat down in a rather uncomfortable silence.

"Shall I make tea?" Evelyn asked.

Alfred made a face and shook his head.

"I'm good, thanks."

Evelyn nodded and shifted awkwardly.

"H-how are you doing?"

"Me? Fine. Not supposed to run or do anything crazy for a while, though. Doctor's orders." He shrugged, avoiding her gaze by staring down at his fidgeting hands.

Evelyn nodded again and stayed silent for a long moment. Should she bring it up? Should she wait for Alfred to mention it? She had no idea what to say to him anymore, and she was just about to explode and delve into a rant when he cleared his throat and looked at her. Evelyn nearly stopped breathing and her heart began pounding in her chest.

"Evelyn," Alfred began, looking like he was about to cry. "Please don't hate me for this…I've tried to stop myself from feeling this way, but whenever I see you smile, I just…. You're grumpy a lot and harsh, but there's more to you than just that, and I'm such a lucky guy to have gotten to know you so well over the past few years. The way you relax when you drink a cup of hot tea, the way your eyes light up when you walk into a library, even the way your brow crinkles up when you're mad at me...I love it all. Call me selfish, but I don't want anyone to ever notice those little things about you. ...I'm not making much sense, am I? I guess what I'm trying to say is I don't want anybody else to know you like I do, because there's no way any guy couldn't fall in love with you if he did. ...and I want to be the only one ever to love you like this."

Evelyn's mouth opened a little in utter shock, her eyes brimming with tears at how strongly his words affected her. Alfred looked away, not observant enough to notice how touched and happy she looked.

"...we don't have to talk or see each other anymore if you don't want to. It's just that, if this is the last time we talk, I want you to know that I love you, Evelyn Clark. I always will." He continued to stare at his hands, which now shook slightly.

"You bloody idiot…." Evelyn murmured, staring at him in a mixture of shock and endearment. "Why would I never want to see you again? I love you."

Alfred blinked and looked up at her, his face alight with hope.

"What?"

"You heard me." She said, laughing in relief and joy. "I love you, Alfred."

"You...you do?" He breathed.

Evelyn smiled and rolled her eyes fondly. It was said that actions speak louder than words, so instead of saying it again, she grabbed the front of his shirt, pulled him close, and kissed him. Alfred blinked in surprise, but grinned and wrapped his arms around her before kissing her back.

Evelyn's heart fluttered in her chest as she pulled away several long moments later, and she smiled widely when she saw the expression on Alfred's face. He looked half dumbfounded and half like his most treasured dream had come true.

"You- I- Oh my g- ...you love me?!"

"No," she said flatly, "I was lying."

Alfred's eyes filled with panic and she noticed, pecking his lips to let him know that she wasn't being serious.

"Of course I love you. I have since we met, git."

He sighed in relief and hugged her properly.

"And you always will?" He asked, sounding so adorably genuine, Evelyn didn't have the heart to tease him. She merely hugged him back, closing her eyes in contentment and nodding.

"Yes, Alfred. I always will."


End file.
